My blogger cohort Laura - on the AOL Desktop for Windows blog posted a great article on some of the work the AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) social media team is working on...

http://desktopblog.aol.com/2008/07/01/a-dedicated-chatroom-for-the-deaf-community/

Stop by and check it out.

thanks...
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

Posted: July 10, 2008

Instant Messaging, Online Radio and Video Search Applications for the iPhone & iPod touch

NEW YORK – July 10, 2008 – AOL today announced three new iPhone OS applications: AIM, the leading instant messaging service; AOL Radio, the most popular online radio service and recent recipient of an Apple Design Award; and Truveo, the leading video search engine are available as free downloads from the Apple App Store beginning today.

"With AIM, AOL Radio and Truveo for the iPhone, consumers now have access to the world's largest instant messaging network, over 350 streaming radio stations and millions of online videos," said Kevin Conroy, Executive Vice President of AOL. "Over the past twelve months, AOL has revitalized its Mac development efforts and we're thrilled to be bringing our world-class communications and multi-media experiences to iPhone users around the world via the App Store."

The new AIM, AOL Radio and Truveo applications for the iPhone were built using Apple's iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK) and provide users a rich, full-featured experience, with added features unique to the iPhone.

* AIM for iPhone brings together all of the core features of AIM – such as real-time communication, the Buddy List window and the ability to see when friends and contacts are online and available to chat – and combines them with a host of new capabilities that make IM'ing from the iPhone easy and convenient, whether over a Wi-Fi, EDGE, or 3G network.

AIM has been designed from the ground up to take advantage of the iPhone's unique user interface and advanced capabilities. New features developed specifically for the iPhone include the use of Gestures, which allows users to simply tap to start a new message or to swipe a finger to switch between conversations; Favorites, which puts the buddies with whom you keep in touch at your fingertips; and the ability to easily incorporate a photo taken with the iPhone's built in camera as a Buddy Icon. AIM for iPhone will be available to users worldwide.

* AOL Radio for iPhone gives users in the U.S. immediate, free access to more than 350 best-in-breed stations including more than 150 local CBS RADIO stations and custom channels and more than 200 AOL Radio stations spanning 25 musical genres. AOL Radio for iPhone leverages the iPhone's Core Location framework to detect a user's location and automatically displays CBS RADIO stations nearest to the user. Additionally, AOL Radio for iPhone automatically adapts to the current connection speed of the device providing low-bandwidth streams when on a cellular network versus higher quality audio for Wi-Fi connections.

At Apple's World Wide Developer Conference in June, AOL Radio was highlighted during the iPhone Developer Showcase and received the Apple Design Award for "Best Entertainment Application."

* Truveo Mobile Video Search for iPhone maximizes the device's premium video experience and makes it easy for users to search and browse through millions of online videos while on the go. Truveo's leading video search engine provides direct links to video content that's been optimized for the iPhone from a wide variety of video sources including CNN, Discovery Channel, HBO, NBC, PBS, Channel, Comedy Central, MTV and YouTube. Localized versions of Truveo Mobile Video Search for iPhone will be available for the U.S., Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, New Zealand, and the UK, with support for additional countries to follow in the coming months.

All three applications are available for free from Apple's App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/

More information on AIM, AOL Radio and Truveo Mobile Video Search for iPhone can be found at http://mobile.aol.com/iphone.

In addition to the AIM, AOL Radio and Truveo applications for the iPhone, AOL has also optimized many of its popular websites and services for the iPhone's Safari browser including; AOL.com, AOL Mail, AOL Mobile Search, AOL Money & Finance, Moviefone, AOL Food, AOL Horoscopes, AOL TV Listings and AOL Shopping.

AOL: Getting Back to the Mac

Over the past year, AOL has reinvested in the Mac platform and created new mobile and desktop experiences for the iPhone, iPod Touch and Macintosh computer. Using Apple's tools and SDKs, as well as working closely with Apple's design and development teams, AOL has launched a series of new applications including AOL Mobile Search, an optimized AOL.com portal and AOL Desktop for Mac.

About AOL
AOL is a global Web services company that operates some of the most popular Web destinations, offers a comprehensive suite of free software and services, runs one of the largest Internet access businesses in the U.S., and provides a full set of advertising solutions. A majority-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., AOL LLC and its subsidiaries have operations in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Asia. Learn more at AOL.com.

Contact:

Derick Mains
AOL
(650) 937-2603
Derick.Mains@corp.aol.com

Today AOL released AOL Desktop for Mac 1.2 that resolves mail and AIM issues our customers have reported for the past few weeks. This is our second update to AOL Desktop for Mac which was launched in early May, 2008.

Changes in AOL Desktop for Mac 1.2:

• Fixed mail display issues where addressee/subject did not match
• Fixed various issues with AIM that may lead to crash on some systems

During first-run of AOL Desktop for Mac 1.2, your online mail folders will be re-synchronized. This is a one-time operation that will increase performance on subsequent launches of AOL Desktop for Mac 1.2. You can continue to use AOL Desktop for Mac 1.2 during the re-synchronization.

Please report any issues using the Feedback button on the application toolbar. Any specific information about connection type and speed, whether you are using wireless, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Try out the new update and let us know how it works for you. You can download it from discover AOL in the Free AOL Downloads section. We will try to respond to comments that have an email address, but rest assured, every comment is read and evaluated by our team.

Thanks...
Larry Aasen
Developer, AOL Desktop for Mac Team

Wow! What a week. Five days of sunny weather, 5000+ Mac developers and the AOL Mac/iPhone team received a small grey cube that has a light-up logo.


It's not just any cube, it's a reaffirmation of AOL's dedication to the Mac (and now iPhone) platforms. The 2008 Apple Design Award for best iPhone Entertainment Application went to Ron Anderson and Dan Gilliam, our two most senior Mac developers who built AOL Radio for iPhone (powered by CBS Radio).

I want to congratulate the entire team (including our user experience/visual designer, AOL management and the entire Mac team) on this outstanding achievement. With WWDC '08 winding down, it's back to the Xcode to work on the next (award winning?) Mac/iPhone application.

Enjoy!
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

If you're a Mac developer and interested in integrating AOL's Open AIM into your application, you can download the source code for the Cocoa WIMFramework.

This Objective-C/Cocoa wrapper implements the logic for AOL's openAIM WIM protocol. Protocol documentation and AIM Network license requirements can be located at http://developer.aim.com

Description
If you want to integrate AIM into your Objective-C based application, this project is meant to make it easier for you. We're using it ourselves to build some AIM experiences.

This library is just beginning. We will be continuing to make available enhancements. The Framework concentrates on making the WIM AIM server protocol easier to consume. It does not make any assumptions about user interface.

Take it for a spin!

Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

We can place info and downloads of the Cocoa AIM frameworks.

It's Official: AOL Launches New Desktop Software for the Mac
New Software for Mac is Latest in Series of Enhanced Mac-Compatible Applications and Products Released by AOL

The AOL for Mac team is pleased to announce today that we are officially launching the new AOL Desktop for Mac software (http://mac.aol.com). Built from the ground-up by Mac users and for Mac users, the new AOL Desktop for Mac marks the first all-new and thoroughly modern desktop software launched by AOL for the Mac in more than five years.

AOL Desktop for Mac offers an all-in-one mail, messaging and Web browsing experience that is light on the desktop, loads in record time, and offers a variety of new features and functionality -- many of which were recommended by our beta testers and AOL Mac users. Highlights of the new software include:

• New, Fast-Loading Web Browser: Built using the same technology that supports the Safari and iPhone Web browsers, the new AOL Desktop for Mac software is armed with one of the fastest-loading browsers available. And because it shares Web components with the Mac OS® X operating system, it will never become obsolete.
• Exclusive New Version of AIM: Developed exclusively for the Mac, the new AIM application in AOL Desktop for Mac works alongside the new AOL Browser and Mail, offering users an enhanced text-based instant messaging experience that now includes many of AIM's most-popular features, such as Buddy Info, AIM Expressions and Buddy Fly Out.
• Easy Transition Tools: New functionality allows for fast, easy transfer of AOL Favorites and AOL Mail (from AOL for Mac OS X personal filing cabinets), as well as icon "tooltips," and a new AOL Support Portal for Mac.
• Tabbed IM and Browsing: Tabs on the browser and IM offer easy access to an uncluttered and organized view of all open windows, helping users stay organized and save time while online.

AOL Desktop for Mac is the latest addition to AOL's recently-released library of Mac and iPhone compatible products, including AOL Mobile Search optimized for the iPhone, AIM for the iPhone and Xdrive Desktop Lite. AOL Mail is also accessible on the iPhone. AOL has a long history of developing and supporting software and services specifically for Mac products, and originally debuted its service on the Mac more than 20 years ago.

The video posted below highlights several of the new features included in the new AOL Desktop for Mac. I encourage you try it for yourself at http://mac.aol.com. It is compatible with Mac OS X, Leopard and Tiger (i.e. Mac OS X 10.4.8 or higher), and will co-exist on your desktop with AOL for Mac OS X.

Link to High Resolution Version (QuickTime .MOV 1440 x 900 - 24.3MB)

Download AOL Desktop for Mac Screenshots

The AOL Desktop for Mac Development Team (2007-2008). Seated left to right: Christina Wick, Abhi Patwardhan, Todd Brannam, Scott Tury, Larry Aasen, Bob Ward, Keith Malkin, and Ron Anderson. Not pictured: Dan Gilliam.

We would like to thank all of the AOL Beta testers for the hard work and dedication. Stay tuned for more cool Mac applications in the future.

The Betas keep on comin'...Today, the AOL Mac Team has released AOL Desktop for Mac Beta 14. Beta 14 tackles a couple of issues that were reported to our Beta feedback/bug report system. We identified an issue where some users were experiencing a application crash after selecting Auto Sign-In and relaunching the application. We also took care of an additional issue in mail.



I would like to take a moment and thank the multitude of AOL Mac beta testers that have been submitting feedback reports and participating on the AOL Beta Message Boards. Feedback from the AOL community is very important to our team!

Thanks!
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

Dozens of donuts and liters of soda and coffee, the AOL Mac Team Beta 13. Below is a list of fixed issues available for our loyal beta testers to try out. Mail continues to be a focus area for our team, so please send Beta feedback (or leave a comment here) if you have issues with mail after installing Beta 13.

Note for users having issues with Mail:

Beta test users (from Beta 8 and up) may have been experiencing issues with mail display, disappearing mail in the mailbox list view and problems deleting mail. The AOL Mac Team has been collecting feedback and bug reports from AOL Beta Central and we have fixed most of these problems in Beta 13. We believe there might be one particular situation in which the user could get temporarily stuck. Please report any issues using the Beta Feedback selection under the Help menu item. Any specific information about connection type and speed, whether you are using wireless, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Fixed Issues:

• Rearchitected mail to fix issues with mail display and mail delete
• Looking up a user's buddy info is now supported

• AOL Desktop for Mac now handles plug-ins and protocols for various helper applications (including iTunes)
• Fixed/Added accessibility options with VoiceOver, especially around the preference for speaking incoming IMs
• Browser will now warn user at application close that downloads are in progress
• Buddy List status pop-up fixed
• Reconfigured buttons to be in context with users actions in AIM (enable/disable buttons when function is available)
• Clicking AIM in application toolbar will bring all IM windows to front
• Updated formatting toolbar with a more unified appearance
• Fixed issue with displaying Flash video in full screen mode
• Resolved single-sign on issues with AIM Chat (now on application toolbar)
• Offline IM support now enabled
• iChat and other clients that send text emoticons auto-convert
• Disabled IM options for parentally controlled accounts
• Local folder search has been fixed
• Attachment button in mail has been fixed (from Beta 11)
• Added contextual menus and updated UI where appropriate
• Updated mail signatures preferences

XM Radio prepared a special deal for AOL Radio listeners. Click to find more on the XM Radio offer.

You can keep up with the AOL Radio team on the AOL Radio blog and on the XM Radio Guide.

The AOL Mac Team has been working diligently to fix issues with mail and we even had a little time to add some new features.

For those active AIM users, we added a slider in the AIM Preferences that will allow you to set the size of the Buddy Icons so you can get more Buddies in your Buddy List.


Setting the slider to the left, you will be able to view more Buddies in your Buddy List. If you want more detail, bring the slider to the right. We also enabled a new preference to disable the Buddy flyout.

Here's a list of all the New/Fixed items in AOL Desktop for Mac Beta 11:

• Fixed issues with a variety of mail connectivity problems
• Fixed issues with mail message body not matching the mail message header
• Fixed issues with blank mail messages
• Deleting mail messages now supported
• Fixed display issue when toolbar would display when Flash (FLV) video was expanded to full screen
• Added Preference to increase number of Buddies displayed in Buddy List (smaller Buddy Icons)
• Fixed Buddy List status popup
• Fixed Buddy List search
• Fixed issues with Quick Away Message in AIM
• Fixed Report Spam button when user opens a Spam mail
• Fixed issues with updating the mail list after deleting messages
• Delete Button will now change to Undelete button when Trash folder is selected
• Fixed displaying of long Screen Names during Buddy Chat invite
• Fixed specific issues with Browser pop-up blocking
• Added "Save Message To" to contextual menu in mail
• Fixed handling for FTP: URLs when entered in AOL Desktop Browser
• Enabled "Report Spam" and "Empty Trash"

You can get the new beta from the normal locations - AOL Beta Central. Keep your comments coming!

Thanks...
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

You can relive today's event in Cupertino at our sister sites - Engadget and TUAW (Engadget and TUAW are in the AOL family). One more thing...Apple also announced that they're working with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers to start the $100,000,000 iFund to invest in up-and-coming iPhone independent software developers.

Enjoy!
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

Here's the description from the AOL Developer's Network:

Open AIM continues to lead the way with providing the most powerful and flexible platform to power your communication, collaboration, and social networking experiences. We're opening up even more to give you unprecedented access to the best of breed tools and services you need to make your applications a success, while providing you with instant access to the AIM community via the new AIM Gallery!

We've also redesigned our website to make it easier for you to find and use what you need. Take a look around, sign up for the Open AIM newsletter, and let us know what you think. And scroll down for more details on what's new with Open AIM!


If you think you have the skillz (yes, I used a 'z' at the end :), you can enter the TopCoder contest and have a chance to win some serious prizes!

See you soon!

Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead